Su'er village in Suixi county of Zhanjiang is the first State-listed famous historical and cultural village in western Guangdong province. It was established in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).

It was first called Lizhi (lychee) village due to it being rich in lychees and was renamed Su'er (Su is a Chinese surname, while er means twice in Chinese) because the renowned poet Su Dongpo (1037-1101) was said to have visited the village twice.

The village has a long history of lychee planting, and an ancient lychee tree that is about 300 years old still stands at the bank slope of the village's pond.

Houses built with red bricks and arc-shaped roofs are a highlight in the village. This kind of architectural style was brought by migrants from Fujian province in ancient times. Fujian merchants in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) made a fortune from overseas trade and saw the exotic red brick buildings. Nowadays, the red brick houses are still well preserved in the village.

The red brick houses with arc-shaped roofs in Su'er village in Zhanjiang. [Photo/WeChat account: zj_daily]

In addition, the village, which is located at the Leizhou Peninsula, also boasts rich folk culture, such as yearly customary practices and dog worshiping.

On the 15th and 17th days of the first lunar month every year, the village will make a grand feast and hold activities like lion dances, traditional opera performances, and fireworks to pray for a prosperous and smooth year, as well as a good harvest.

Stone dogs, mostly carved out of basalt, have been worshiped as guard gods and are  highly valuable sculptures for people around Leizhou, a county-level city in Zhanjiang. Stone dogs in Su'er village vary in size, from the largest being 91 centimeters tall to the smallest being just 16 cm.

Dog worshiping in Leizhou dates back to before the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). The culture was included in the national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

Su'er village is a part of the rural ancient culture tourism route of Suixi county, which was included in the 100 rural tourism quality routes of Guangdong province in August 2019.

Address: Su'er village, Suixi county, Zhanjiang, Guangdong province